Lever and slide motion converting means with slidable connection



June 5, 1956 L. GUAY 2,748,613

LEVER AND SLIDE MOTION CONVERTING MEANS WITH SLIDABLE CONNECTION FiledNov. 8, 1951 lnventor' United States Patent 2,748,613 LEVER AND SLIDEMOTION CONVERTING MEANS WITH SLIDABLE CONNECTION Lucien Guay, Lauzon,Levis, Quebec, Canada Application November 8, 1951, Serial No. 255,396 1Claim. (Cl. 74-104 The present invention relates to a lever and slidemotion converting means with slidable connection more particularlyadapted to be used in conjunction with a pressure fluid operatedsteering mechanism for marine vessels and the like.

The general object of the present invention is the provision of a deviceof the character described which is of rugged construction and yet maybe easily and quickly dismantled for repairs or part replacement.

Another important object of the present invention is the provision of anarrangement of the character described in which a block is secured tothe piston rods of a pair of pressure liquid actuated double-actingpower motors disposed in alignment, said block having a slidableconnection with a lever secured to the member to be oscillated by thepower motors and so arranged that said block is positively guided in itsreciprocating movement so that there will be no deformation of thepiston rods under stress and strain.

Still another important object of the present invention is the provisionof an apparatus of the character described in which the lever meanswhich are slidably connected to the block, consist of two verticallysuperposed levers one disposed above and one underneath said blockwhereby the stresses exerted by the member to be oscillated are equallybalanced and do not effect any overturning force on the block wherebythere are no bending stresses imparted to said block' or to the pistonrods connected to said block.

Yet another important object of the present invention is the provisionof an arrangement of the character described in which the pair of leversmay be quickly removed from the block without having to dismantle saidblock from the piston rods secured thereto.

Still another important object of the present invention is the provisionof a mechanism of the character described which is more particularlyadapted for use in conjunction with the steering gear of a ship andwhich is strong enough to resist all stresses normally encountered bysuch a steering gear.

The foregoing and other important objects of the present invention willbecome more apparent during the following disclosure and by referring tothe drawings in which:

Figure 1 is a plan view of a steering system; and

Figure 2 is a perspective exploded view of the connections between therudder post and the piston rods of the power motors.

Referring now more particularly to the drawings in which like referencecharacters indicate like elements throughout, the pivotally mountedmember to be oscillated, which may be a rudder post, is indicated by thenumeral 1 and on it are rigidly secured two vertically superposedhorizontally extending arms 2 for actuation by power motors 3, theoperation of which is controlled through the valve box 4 by a controlshaft 5 and bevelled gears 64 and 65. The valve box 4 is connected to asource of gas under pressure by means of a pipe 6 and distributes saidpressure gas to a pair of gas-liquid tanks 7 and 8 through the gasconduits 9 and 10 respectively.

The tanks 7 and 8 are partly filled with a liquid and this liquid is fedto the power motors 3 by the liquid conduits 12 and 13, respectively,connecting said tanks with the left and right end of said power motors.

The valve box 4 is provided with an exhaust port 2,748,613 Patented June5, 1956 connected to the exhaust pipe 20 provided at its discharge endwith a throttle valve 21 for adjusting the counter pressure in theexhaust port and pipe 20.

Each power motor 3 is a pressure liquid double actuating cylinder andpiston unit, the piston rod 26 of which is coaxial with the piston rodof the other power motor, said two piston rods being threadedlyconnected at their free ends to a common block 27, shown in more detailin Figure 2. Two guiding elements 28 are pivotally mounted on the block27 at the top and bottom faces thereof by being secured to a bolt 29which is rotatably mounted in a bore 29 made in said block 27. The endsof the bolt 29 project from the block 27 to threadedly engage theguiding elements 28. Said guiding elements 28 have a U-shapedcross-section and slidably receive the free end of the arms 2; retainingplates 30 are bolted to the guiding elements 28 to prevent disengagementof the arms 2. A channel 31 is secured to the side face of the block 27opposite the member 1 and slidably engages a guide member 32 whichextends parallel with the piston rods 26 and is secured at both ends tothe cylinders of the power motors 3, as shown in Figure 1.

The valve box 4 is provided with a shuttle valve (not shown) whichcontrols fluid admission to the power motors 3 in such a way as to lockthe arms 2 in the angular position corresponding to the control positionof the shaft 5. Said shuttle valve is mechanically linked to the block27 by rod 45, link 46, lever 47, shaft 49 and lever 50.

While a preferred embodiment according to the present invention has beenillustrated and described it is understood that various modificationsmay be resorted to without departing from the spirit and scope of theappended claim.

I claim:

In a device of: the character described, a pair of pressure liquidactuated double acting power motors disposed in spaced alignment, twoaxially aligned piston rods projecting from said motors towards eachother, said piston rods being threaded at their outer adjacent ends, acommon block of rectangular shape threadedly connected to the outer endof said piston rods, said block having a bore, a bolt rotatable withinsaid bore and projecting therefrom at both ends, two guiding elements inthe form of channel members threadedly connected to the projecting endsof said bolt, a pivotally mounted member to be oscillated, twovertically superposed arms secured to said last named member andslidably inserted in said guiding elements for actuation thereby, achannel bolted to said common block, a stationary guide member securedto said power motors and extending parallel to said piston rods, saidchannel slidably engaging said guide member, and retaining plates boltedto said guiding elements over said arms to prevent disengagement of saidarms from said guiding elements.

References fitted in the file of this patent UNiTED STATES PATENTS486,095 Elmes Nov. 15, 1892 526,930 Maxon Oct. 2, 1894 543,871 Bain Nov.16, 1897 959,417 Anderson May 24, 1910 962,257 Rockwell June 21, 19101,001,340 Blauvelt Aug. 22, 1911 1,023,855 King et al Apr. 23, 19121,077,862 Stafford et al Nov. 4, 1913 1,599,199 Bayles Sept. 7, 19262,138,236 Horton Nov. 29, 1938 2,239,893 Jackman Apr. 29, 1941 FOREIGNPATENTS 102,931 Sweden Aug. 28, 1941

